Antioxidant properties and phenolic content of sulla ( H edysarum spp.) honeys from S outhern I taly

Summary The geographical origin greatly influences the qualitative and nutraceutical characteristics of honey. In this study, a total of twenty‐four sulla honeys from eight different geographical areas of Southern Italy have been examined for total phenolic content ( F olin– C iocalteu method), antioxidant activity ( FRAP and DPPH assays), colour intensity ( ABS 450 ), and identification and quantification of phenolic acids ( RP ‐ HPLC / UV ‐ VIS method). The total phenolic content ranged from 47.9 ( P otentino honeys) to 248.3 mg GAE per kg honey ( P enisola S orrentina honeys). The antioxidant activity ranged from 47.06% ( B asso P ollino honeys) to 88.25% ( P enisola S orrentina honeys), and from 98.26 μM F e ( II ) ( P otentino honeys) to 786.53 μ m F e ( II ) ( T arantino honeys) for DPPH and FRAP assays, respectively. Major phenolic acids identified in analysed samples were gallic, caffeic and ferulic acids. Correlations between the parameters analysed were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The results of the study showed that the parameters studied are greatly affected by the peculiarities of their production area.